2012 City Budget: What’s at Stake for Toronto Communities Winston Tinglin, Social Planning Toronto Glen Long Community Centre Community Budget Forum Hosted by Councillor Josh Colle January 11, 2012

 Overview of the City of Toronto’s 2012 budget  Proposed cuts to our communities  Making choices about the Toronto we want

2012 Budget Process

 November 28: Staff-recommended 2012 operating and capital budgets released  December 2, 5-9, 13: Budget Committee meets to review budget  January 9: Budget Committee makes final recommendations on budget 

January 12: Executive Committee makes final recommendations on budget

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January 17-19: City Council makes final decisions on budget

The “Opening Pressure”

Choices that increased the opening pressure

2011 Budget:  City Council gave up $64 million in revenue by cancelling the vehicle registration tax  City Council froze property taxes – a 2% increase in 2011 would have generated about $47 million

Death by a Thousand Cuts

Budget Committee:  recommends $85.2 million in proposed cuts plus increases to user fees including TTC and recreation  Takes $2.8 million in proposed cuts off the table – 58 student nutrition programs, programs offered in 12 TDSB shared-use community centres, aquatics at 2 TDSB pools

Libraries and Recreation

  cuts to library hours, purchase of library materials elimination of priority recreation centres (end to free registered programs for children and youth in priority centres)   cuts to arenas, increase in recreation facility permit costs, increases in user fees for recreation closure of some wading pools, outdoor pools, elimination of programming at some school board pools

Community Programs

 9.8% cut to community grants for services delivered by nonprofit community organizations

Homeless People

 closure of three emergency shelters (Birchmount, Downsview Dells and Bellwoods)  cuts to Affordable Housing Office and Shelter, Support and Housing Administration

Seniors, People with Disabilities

 elimination of the Hardship Fund in June 2012  closure of visitor cafeterias in long term care homes

Child Care

  closing 3 municipal child care centres rental costs for centres to be passed on to parents ($500-$600 per year)

TTC

  10 cent TTC fare increase cuts to 56 bus routes and 6 streetcar lines (TTC has taken some service reductions off the table, but bulk remain and specifics to be announced)    cuts to streetcar and subway replacement purchases end Wheel Trans service for dialysis patients (funding to June 2012) reduce service to pre-2004 levels

Environment

 cuts to services that maintain a healthy tree canopy  cuts to sustainable energy and climate change policy development and implementation

Fire & Paramedics

 longer waits for firefighters and paramedics

Good Jobs

 elimination of over 2,300 City positions – service impacts

How are we doing?

Unemployment over 9%

Source: City of Toronto, 2012

How Are We Doing …..?

   City of Toronto anticipates tough economic times ahead in 2012 – projects an increase of 5,000 in the Ontario Works average monthly caseload from 101,000 to 106,000 According to the 2006 Census, 24.5% of Toronto residents live in poverty – a figure based on good economic times compared to the current climate Women, Aboriginal peoples, racialized groups, newcomers, people with disabilities, lone mothers, children and youth have much higher poverty rates than the city average

City Council has Choices – Budget Cuts are Not Inevitable

    Engage and listen to communities – 13,000 residents took part in core service review identifying vital services they wanted protected Promote equitable access to vital City programs and services There are several was to balance the budget – let’s do it in a socially responsible way Let’s not be penny-wise and pound-foolish

Making Choices about the Toronto We Want Considerations

     Proposed service cuts - $85.2 million plus increases in user fees for recreation and TTC 2011 surplus - $154 million $6 million left from unanticipated assessment growth Proposed uses for the surplus: capital reserves (for capital projects) and tax rate stabilization fund (rainy day fund) Isn’t it raining now?

What City Council Can Do

City Council can:    use the $6 million left from unanticipated assessment growth to take more cuts off the table use the 2011 surplus to balance the budget without damaging service cuts, while also saving money for capital projects and the rainy day fund use revenue options – e.g. a modest addition to the 2.5% property tax increase or re-instating the vehicle registration tax

Continue working to address the structural deficit -

    Get Federal and Provincial Governments to play their part; develop viable long term, revenue-generating strategies, esp. re: TTC operating and capital costs Child care Social housing

Our Communities -

    A vital part of our city’s social and economic infrastructure Budget should sustain them, not damage them further Recession has compounded the effects of poverty – already at very high levels Budget represents choices – for better or worse

Contact

 Winston Tinglin Director of Community Engagement Social Planning Toronto www.socialplanningtoronto.org

[email protected]

(416) 351-0095 x250